Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Blog Tour: Once Upon A Wolf by Rhys Ford with Guest Post and Giveaway

Today we are kicking off Rhys Ford’s blog tour with the first stop for her new release Once Upon A Wolf being released on 16th February. Go check out what Rhys has to say about werewolves in mythology. Rhys has also brought with her a generous giveaway of a $20.00 gift for any online retailer of the winner’s choice so be sure to enter the draw.

So…. Werewolves.

Everyone knows about them.

Everyone has an idea about what they are.

And much like people’s opinion about whether or not ketchup belongs on scrambled eggs, everyone has an opinion about what makes a werewolf.

When I was challenged to write a shifter book, I sat down and thought hard about the werewolf I wanted to write. It was going to be gritty, fangy and hardcore.

Then I sat down and wrote Once Upon A Wolf… and it came out… sweet.

Like roses, chocolates, and warm socks out of the dryer sweet. And I wasn’t only good with it, I loved how sweet it came out. Because when it was all said and done, I realized I kind of wanted a werewolf romance story where the romance was key and the werewolf fell in love.

So for this blog tour, it’s going to be short, sweet and all about werewolves. With the assistance of one of the Five, Lee Jay Stura, we’re going to be exploring different aspects of werewolves; mythology, cultural views, in books, on screen, and pop culture.

I’m also going to be giving away a $25 USD gift certificate on each stop of the blog tour. So get your fangs and claws on, enter to win and grab a copy of Once Upon A Wolf by Rhys Ford, out on February 16, 2018.

Werewolves in MythologyIt’s a still night. The light of the full moon bright enough to read by, and a howl cuts through the silence near enough to make your skin crawl. You know it’s not a dog’s howl. This is something else, but it’s been years since anyone’s seen a wolf in the woods outside the village. So what’s going on? Is it that new guy? The one who took over the old Jenkins’ place?

You find out the next morning, you’re not the only one who heard the howling. Another neighbor lost a sheep. Its belly torn apart, and someone found a boot near wolf tracks! The gossip begins to spread.

Before DNA scans and blood tests, how did you find out if your neighbor was howling at the full moon? Different cultures had different tests and mythologies where shape-shifters and werewolves were concerned. While women were accused of witchcraft, men who behaved differently were often named as werewolves if they had any of the following features:

Long index fingers—lay your hand palm down on a flat surface. See how your middle finger is longer than the rest? That’s how it is for most people, but if your index was the longest, that was a sure sign that you were a monster!

Being too hairy—Unibrows were bad! Heavy brows that touched over the nose were an obvious sign. In fact, patches of hair anywhere strange was a black mark on the list, especially if you had hairy palms. And the hair wasn’t always on the outside of your skin. Inquisitors were known to peel the skin back on the accused to see if they had fur on the inside!

The Mark of the Wolf—star shaped scars, scratches, shadows, or other body markings made you suspect. They could be simple stars or pentagrams, which were definitive signs you were evil. Actual lines didn’t need to be visible either. A grouping of freckles could have lines drawn through them to create a star shaped mark as well, making this ‘test’ a pretty easy way to convict anyone they wanted to get rid of.

Red eyes—if your eyes weren’t a normal color, and they reflected light like an animal’s, you were also damned. At least this one can’t have happened often and would be hard to fake.

So, how did they get turned into a werewolf? That list’s a lot longer, but a few of the big items are:

Infected by bites, scratches, and other mean of blood contamination—like most diseases, lycanthropy was spread from person to person, and people who were infected with rabies were thought to be werewolves. Drinking water that wolves had been in or near was also known to cause infection.

Curses and cursed items—witches could curse you against your will. You could be given a cursed item, like a magical wolf pelt, and you’d turn on the full moon. These weren’t always against your will either. Some people wanted the power that came from the curse or the magic pelts and believed they would work.

The Moon—falling asleep under the full moon and letting the moonbeams touch your face could also curse you, turning you into a raging lunatic. It was much better to sleep indoors and hide from the moon.

Tasting human flesh—cannibalism could be the cause and the result of being a werewolf. Unlike the sexual nature of the vampire, the werewolf was linked to violence, rough appearance, and bad behavior. It was a great excuse to get rid of the unwanted and unwelcome.

Once Upon a Wolf

Synopsis

Once Upon A Time, There Was A Wolf….

Gibson Keller’s days are fairly routine: wake up early, get some work done, drink lots of coffee, and take care of Ellis, his older brother stuck in wolf form after coming home from the war. It’s a simple life made up of long runs on two legs—or four—and quiet evenings…. Until Ellis chases a handsome man off a cliff and into the frozen waters beside their cabin, changing Gibson’s life forever.

For Zach Thomas, buying an old B&B is a new start. Leaving behind his city life, he longs to find peace and quiet, and hiking the trails behind his property seems safe enough—right up to the moment an enormous black wolf chases him into a lake, nearly drowning him. Discovering werewolves are real astounds him, but not as much as the man who rescues him from the icy water then walks into Zach’s heart as if he owns it.

Loving a werewolf—loving Gibson with all his secrets—has its challenges but Zach believes their love is worth fighting for, especially since his heart knows the big bad wolf is really a prince in disguise.

Pre-Order Purchase Links

Meet Rhys Ford

Rhys Ford is an award-winning author with several long-running LGBT+ mystery, thriller, paranormal, and urban fantasy series and was a 2016 LAMBDA finalist with her novel, Murder and Mayhem. She is published by Dreamspinner Press and DSP Publications.

She’s also quite skeptical about bios without a dash of something personal and really, who doesn’t mention their cats, dog and cars in a bio? She shares the house with Yoshi, a grumpy tuxedo cat and Harley, an off-kilter flower-faced grey and white cat-dog , as well as a ginger cairn terrorist named Gus. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird and enjoys murdering make-believe people.

Werewolves were my introduction to paranormal/shifter/fantasy mm romance! Since they led me to dragons, crocodiles, owls and tigers, I've enjoyed the whole experience. The idea of a falling for a werewolf who is someone's prince is sweet. I'm hoping Ellis finds his own prince!

Congrats on the release, and thanks for the history behind werewolves. I had one of the signs, unibrow, but my mom started plucking that when I got it and it's now gone. Too bad; I wouldn't have minded shifting every now and then. - Purple Reader, TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com